Remaking Baby Steps Part 2
I’ve been working on part 2 while I wrote, part 1. I’ve realized after re-reading both that my format is a little more like a research paper than a blog, but I guess after 5 years of research writing through college, it is my default. Sorry, I just need to share what I’ve been learning and I guess it’s just how it’s flowing out of my mind. So if you can, keep reading, don’t get bored, pay attention and enjoy!
Mark 10:13-16 discusses the idea of coming to Christ as children, and I know we’ve each heard about that. I’ve been researching the verse and really attempting to understand it and wrap my head around the entirety of its meaning and I don’t want to miss out on the 2nd half of its meaning.
It says, (in case you forgot), “And they kept bringing young children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples were reproving them [for it]. But when Jesus saw, He was indignant and pained and said to them, “Allow the children to come to Me–Do not forbid or prevent or hinder them–for to such belongs the Kingdom of God. Truly, I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child positively shall not enter it at all. ” And He took them [the children up one on one] in His arms and [ferverently invoked a]blessing, placing His hands upon them.” (AMP).
He does point out that the disciples or us need to come to Christ as children, because we know and can assume they were not already. However, in the simple rebuke “Don’t ever get between them and me” or as the Amplified Bible says forbid, prevent or hinder for this pained Jesus. I have to wonder, why would this matter? Why would Jesus respond in a crowd, to the disciples if He was already going to be enjoying the company of children?
I believe that Jesus provoked the disciples in verse 16 to help them realize that they to0 had come into the faith as children. They certainly hadn’t gotten in to His graces by good behavior or spiritual knowledge, but had come just as eagerly because they honestly believed that Christ would make them worthy. The disciples out of their own pride had forgotten who they had been, and had let their judgment about who should come, and in so doing were going to prevent others from entering.
Very quickly, for the sake of those who may not know or remember, Simon, Peter, James and John had forgotten they had come from a boat. Mark 1:14-20 points out that they had been lowly fishermen, commoners, like us. At the same starting line, having very little spiritual knowledge. Yet they chose to give it up for Christ, because they believed in Him. Matthew, another disciple, had been referred to as a “sinner” publicly by the Saduccees and Pharisees or Jewish religious leaders. He had been a tax collector for the Roman government, or a traitor to the Jewish people. Yet, Jesus used him and brought him from unworthiness to worthiness in his Kingdom. Jesus even changed Matthew’s name from Levi, so that he could start fresh in the faith or like a child.
The other disciples (there were twelve) had also come from various background and religious understanding, yet each entered Christ’s kingdom with the attitude of a child, that Christ was worth giving their failure card to, so that He could use them in new ways. Each of the disciples had a starting line, and each had to remake baby steps over and over. Peter did after failing to have faith to walk on water and in Christs last days denied and had opportunities to choose Christ 3x and failed. Thomas wasn’t sure that Jesus rose from the dead and had to see the scars to believe it. Each one of them forgot their own mistakes, and believed someone else wasn’t worthy. See the pride? Christ had to respond because they needed humbling. They were missing out on blessings by not allowing or remembering to let the Children enter.
I believe I’ve been guilty of this myself. I am easily frustrated by Christians who are not “new believers”, but act like they are. I often forget that others are in the same process as me. They, like me, are in need of plenty of do-overs and remaking of baby steps. It is easy for me, in my pride, to have high expectations of others. I’m expecting them to be running mile 10 and their still on the starting line of the marathon (actually so am I).
Jesus wants us and calls us in this verses to be able to be at the starting line and secure in knowing we are capable to run the race. Even more, He wants us to be okay with letting others who may need it more or maybe less than us to experience it too. It is crucial that as we “Age in the faith”, we not forget where we came from, nor that we will probalby have to re-enter the kingdom with Christ as children again and again, which puts us at the same starting line with everyone else.
Additionally, we very carefully must tread and not let others “childlike behaviors” cause us to trip up in the race. Our tripping has a ripple effect and we will end up in someone elses lane and in doing so may cause someone else to fall. We need to be able to encourage each other to have “childlike faith”. If we get caught up watching everyone else in the starting line and examine their failures we’ll totally miss the opportunity to run free and without a disability.
I am not saying we are not called to accountability or to hold each other up to sin, what I’m more or less talking about is the ability to see the differences between someones immaturity in the faith and their sin and our expectations towards the immature.
I believe that we should have expectations of Christians that are reasonable to where they are in their marathon. If there is a new believer, be excited and treat them differently than we would a seasoned believer. Both the seasoned or mature believer and the new believer, need love and encouragement to move into deeper relationship with Christ. And, more importantly, they need patience and understanding from those who have failed many times and will still fail again and again to move back into the God-love. Accountability, does not mean “nit-picking”, it means helping with excitement, each other when injured, or fatigued back into the race, maybe that is the starting line, maybe its back to mile 10. The disciples missed that. They were too busy judging who would be worthy enough to take up Jesus time.
Jesus is reminding the disciples in verse 16, that being a child in the faith is a powerful tool and that there are many blessings to be enjoyed. We quickly learned that in the same breath that Christ rebuked He began blessing the Children. “He took the children into his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them” (NIV) or “fervently invoked a blessing” (AMP). You and I need to know when we come to Christ as children and when others do as well there are many beautiful blessings to be shared. I know that it doesn’t implicitly state what blessings Jesus invoked, but I can’t help but to conclude that a significant blessing would be unity. Colossians 3:12-14 states, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (NIV). This verse makes it perfectly clear, if we are hindering fellow Christians from remaking baby steps we are at fault for disunity in the race.
So, Why should we be united?
Ephesians 4:13-16 says that unity creates maturity. We will become more mature and no longer “childlike”. Our childlike attitude will flourish into childlike faith that is mature. We will be able to move beyond baby steps and move into the walking or running phase of the race. We will learn to stand.
Our first and foremost step is to enter in as children, to give it all up and to believe with reckless abandon, then we must not watch everyone else waiting for them to fail, fall or we’ll find ourselves there again as well. SO, enter the race, on your marks, get ready, set, GO……RUN THE RACE!
